Cops put squeeze on alleged python biter in Calif.

This photo provided by the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services shows a python is seen drinking water, Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 in Sacramento, Calif. Police say the snake underwent emergency surgery after David Senk, 54, allegedly bit the creature twice. The python was turned over to the city's Animal Care Services, where it was recovering after losing a couple ribs. (AP photo/City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, Gina Knepp)

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — A snake bite left the victim seriously hurt, but the injured party isn't whom you'd expect.

Officers were called to Del Paso Heights around 6:30 p.m. Thursday after a passer-by reported that a man was lying on the ground and may have been assaulted, according to Sgt. Andrew Pettit. When they arrived, they found David Senk, 54, still lying there — but police say he wasn't the one who was assaulted.

Another man approached officers and accused Senk of taking two bites out of his 3-foot (one-meter) pet python, Pettit said.

Senk was arrested on suspicion of unlawfully maiming or mutilating a reptile and booked on $10,000 bail.

In a jailhouse interview with KXTL-TV on Friday, Senk said he had no memory of the incident and that he has a drinking problem.

The snake was turned over to the city's Animal Care Services, where it was recovering Friday after losing several ribs. The female python, about a couple years old, had extensive bite injuries, said Gina Knepp, acting animal care services manager.

"You could see the poor snake's liver, all the way down the side," Knepp said.

The snake's owner has not yet come forward to claim the pet or file a report with animal care officials, Knepp said.